Downtown Houma receives ‘Great Places in La.’ award

Published: Thursday, November 29, 2012 at 8:41 p.m.

Last Modified: Thursday, November 29, 2012 at 8:41 p.m.

Downtown Houma has been named one of three winners of the 2012 Great Places in Louisiana award.

The award recognizes new methods in planning, design, construction services and programs that make it possible to live in a community through a lifetime, according to a news release from AARP Louisiana, the Center for Planning Excellence and the Lieutentant Governor’s Office.

Each Great Place award winner received $1,500 and a plaque at the Smart Growth Summit in Baton Rouge Wednesday.

The other winners were Bike Easy, which works to improve bicycling in New Orleans, and NuNu Arts and Culture Collective in Arnaudville, which focuses on arts and culture, career development, education and sustainable development.

Judges evaluated each nomination using criteria that included affordability, accessibility, connectivity, sustainability, community engagement, walkability and public transit.

Some elements that gave Houma the win included revitalizing the Downtown Marina, creating a scenic walkway along Bayou Terrebonne and launching a farmer’s market.

Judges also noted the Terrebonne Folklife Cultural Center, the Terrebonne Waterlife Museum and the Main Street Memorial Park, which preserves the culture of the Houma area.

During a Wednesday night Terrebonne Parish Council public hearing, parish Planning and Zoning Director Pat Gordon and Parish President Michel Claudet expressed their gratitude for the award.

“Our Main Street Manager Anne Picou and the (Downtown Development Corp.) should also be congratulated for their great efforts, and of course we appreciate the support of the administration and the Parish Council,” Gordon said.

Claudet said Gordon was being modest.

“I had a discussion with someone this week from the state,” Claudet said. “And the guy says to me, ‘Do you realize that you have some of the best people in the state working in your planning department?’ I said, ‘I already knew that.’”

Picou said she was “very elated” Houma was selected.

“We all think we are doing a good job, but it’s touching when people outside the area appreciate and recognize what you’re doing,” Picou said.

Picou said she can see why Houma is appealing to people over age 50 and otherwise.

There is the Le Bonne Terre Village apartment complex for retirees, which is centrally located, making it easy for people to get around and to get to the nearby bus station, Picou said.

Also, there’s a nearby hospital, a variety of restaurants and a decent mixture of residential and commercial property, she said.

High on Picou’s list of things she hopes to improve upon downtown includes crosswalks.

The primary crosswalks would be installed at the Le Bonne Terre apartments that would provide a direct route to the bus station and at the courthouse.

“We are continuing to look for more funding to make our sidewalks more pedestrian-friendly,” Picou said.

If residents have other ideas of what they would like to see downtown, Picou said “voicing their opinions” is the first step.

Picou said the $1,500 will go toward new Christmas decorations downtown.

The 2012 Great Places in Louisiana awards program is sponsored by Amedisys, Care Innovations and the Louisiana Chapter of the American Planning Association.

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